Beach Stairs — Attraction in Dana Point

This is a very scenic spot, let me start off by saying. It was a perfect blue sky morning, with some nice-sized waves blasting off the large boulders lining the shore this morning.

We also saw an Osprey, circling the cliff right above us, before winging out over the water. It must've seen something, as this large black & white bird folded its wings & quickly dropped down nearly to the water, before changing its mind at the last second, and ascending once more. No splash and fish reward this time.

Frustrating my wife & I couldn't make our way onto the small beach, since it was high tide, and wave action dominated this a.m., all the way to the cliffs that surround this beach.

Still, this is a beautiful spot, worthy of a view, should you be...

Fun beach to check out sea life/wildlife, there's fun coves/giant boulders/trails to climb, hike and explore! The views are stunning pretty much 360°! The jetty is fun to walk down, especially when the tide is coming in and it's a bit breezy (be prepared to get wet)! Very clean beach but is very rocky and can be pretty challenging to walk across. I wouldn't recommend boogy boarding or swimming unless you're experienced swimming in...

Stairs are located behind the Ocean Institute (be sure to check that out too - see their website for times, prices and cruise schedule) but the beach itself is not accessible at high tide and the waters are very rough with lots of rocks so it's more just to walk the sand at low tide and to enjoy the scenery. If you're wanting a swim beach for younger children then Baby Beach is in the same parking area and is...